NPR Poll: More Black Men Want Long-Term Relationships Than Women

At Clutch, Danielle Belton raises a skeptical eye to the NPR study’s findings

Love. Eternal and pure. Obtained by some, elusive to others. But who knew a desperate poetic soul existed in the heart of the single Black man, sitting along amongst the 15 or so of his pet cats and collection of knitting needles wondering where-oh-where is a woman to make my sandwiches?

Just one-third (34%) of these young-to-middle-aged singles say they are currently seeking a long-term committed romantic relationship, while just one in ten (10%) say they are already in one. Men are more likely to say they are looking for a committed relationship (43%) than are women (25%). Nearly all of those seeking such a relationship want to get married someday (98%).

Commitment. Isn’t that a dirty word?

So somewhere, out there, beneath the pale moonlight wanders 43 percent of Black men between the ages of 18 and 49 (!) posting MSW ads on Craigslist from their iPhones while wondering why Cupid won’t hit him with his arrow.

CALL ME A NON-BELIEVER … but I think there’s more to this than meets the eye.

First of all, 18 to 49 is a really large swath of people. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know a lot of people near 50 who can relate to someone barely out of high school, let alone share their dating aspirations. Heck, most 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and older can’t relate to the lovelorn elder teens of this world. So, I find this measure much, much too broad. What did men 18 to 24 say versus what men 25 to 30 said versus what men 31 and up said? Because I find it hard to believe they’re all up wondering where they can find “true love.”